


Friend?

by gunpowder_and_pearls



Category: Avengers
Genre: Angst, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Drug Use, First Meeting, Howard’s A+ Parenting, M/M, MIT Era, MIT Tony Stark, University, pre-avengers, teenager Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-27 19:42:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20953874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gunpowder_and_pearls/pseuds/gunpowder_and_pearls
Summary: Tony Stark finally made it to college, away from that empty mansion. He’s ready to prove himself. Because maybe, maybe if he can show that he can make it through MIT, maybe Howard will finally look at himOrJames Rhodes is not looking forward to sharing a dorm with the asshole who knocked into him and Tony Stark isn’t good at emotions or people





	Friend?

**Author's Note:**

> So this might be triggering, please read the tags!!! Hmu with any requests for MIT Tony and Rhodey, this was really fun to write :)

Tony was fuming as he stormed down the hallway.  _ No,  _ Mr. In-Charge-Of-The-Fucking-College, Tony did  _ not  _ want to share a dorm room with someone who would probably either be a complete dick to him about his age or last name, or be a complete fanboy. Really, Tony would rather have the first one, because he had a knife and if he ended up with the second, someone was going to die and it would probably be him. 

He rounded the corner only to bounce off someone’s  _ very  _ fucking muscled chest. He glanced up, meeting the dark brown eyes of another- _ abet older _ -teenager who looked just as aggravated as Tony was.

“Watch where you’re goin’,” Tony snapped, trying to push past him but an arm swung out to block his way. 

The African-American male narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know who the  _ fuck  _ you think you are, but I am already having a terrible day and I’m not gonna deal with asshats who are so fucking stuck-up ‘cause they got into goddamn MIT by tossin’ money at the chancellor ‘til they get admitted. So shut the fuck up and get over yourself.”

Dropping his arm, the other teenager stalked away, leaving Tony to stare at him- _ not his ass, just his back...his back which is right above his ass in those very- _ No! Tony refuses to get a crush on the first good looking- _ handsome… _ -college boy he meets. 

He shook his head sharply because  _ hell the fuck no,  _ he wasn’t here to get laid, he was here to prove his dad wrong and at the same time, maybe prove he is worth  _ something.  _

The brunet spun on his heel, away from where he had just seen that fine piece of ass walk away, and headed back to his soon-to-be-not-just-his dorm. When he finally reached the relative privacy of it, he had already had to fend off three fangirls(and one fanboy) and one  _ complete fucking nerd  _ who had stuttered his way through asking for an autograph. He had got one, of course. If Tony got to pick what fans he had to deal with, he’d have to choose the geeks. At least they could hold a conversation with him that wasn’t full of fluttering eyelashes and not-so-subtle invitations. 

Pulling the door closed behind him, the click of the automatic lock making his shoulders relax, he shuffled his way over to the couch. Maybe just a few minutes of resting his eyes. They were burning, after all. He felt his legs give out and barely managed to lean over the cushions before he was out.

* * *

Loud knocking broke through his wonderful- _ peaceful _ -dream of Christmas with Jarvis and Anna, before Anna had passed and Tony left for college, leaving Jarvis in an empty house that used to be full of love and laughter. Now all it was good for was his dad’s dinner parties and his mom getting drunk or high in her room.

Tony groaned, his head still pounding from lack of sleep as he hauled himself up. Black spots flooded his vision for a moment, which was fan- _ fucking- _ tactic, it’s really what Tony needed right now, a goddamn head rush. 

The teenager stumbled his way to the door, the knocking still echoing through the room. “I’m comin’, I’m comin’, just shut the fuck up,  _ please. _ ” 

He flung open the door to see a teenager, over a head taller than him- _ No.  _ “Oh fuck no, not today.” Tony shook his head. “I cannot fucking deal with this today.”

Tony starting to swing the door shut but was stopped by a booted foot. He glanced up at the other. “What, you actually want to deal with me?”

“I don’t have a goddamn choice, asshole. I am assigned to your room so like it or not, we are roommates.” With that, the teenager pushed past Tony and stepped into the main room. 

Tony growled under his breath and slammed the door shut. “Fine, you fucking prick.” He pointed to the doors on either sides of the room. “Left is the bedroom, right is the bathroom.” He gestured over his shoulder. “That’s the kitchen. Don’t get lost.” 

The dark-skinned teenager nodded and extended his hand. “I’m James, James Rhodes, if you care.”

Tony nodded in response. “Tony. You can call me Tony.” The brunet gave an obviously fake smile and ducked into the bedroom, flopping into his desk chair.  _ At least Dad let me bring my furniture, I wasn’t fucking ‘allowed’ to touch  _ my  _ goddamn designs, but yeah sure I can bring my rollie chair to college.  _

The bedroom door was swung open and James walked in, a stack of boxes in his arms. Tony turned back around and began to dig through the overstuffed drawers of his desk because  _ goddamnit where were his earbuds when he fucking needed them.  _ He straightened angrily before catching sight of them under his bed- _ how the fuck did they end up there?- _ and after shoving them in his ears, proceeded to blare AC/DC on full volume. 

It drowned out the sound of his new roommate cussing as he attempted to piece his bed frame back together, it drowned out the sound of voices and footsteps and  _ shouting  _ above him, but most importantly, it drowned out the sound of his own thoughts. 

* * *

It had been a loud week in his dorm with James, neither of them speaking or both of them shouting over the smallest yet most irritating of things. So Tony fully intending to block it all out with alcohol. After all, what was one more person that hated him if he couldn’t even remember they did?

The pounding music and flashing lights of whoever’s party he was at did the job nicely, but so did the drink in his hand. Some kid named Tiberius...something had grabbed it for him. 

“T’beri…T’ber...Ty!” Tony’s mouth wasn’t working right, his tongue felt heavy and his lips were moving too slowly for his liking. “Ty!” Tony couldn’t see the other college kid in the crowd.

“Yeah Tony?” The nineteen year old materialized out of the teeming mass of drunk, sweaty people. A smile was on his lips as his eyes fastened on the younger teenager. “Woah, you doin’ okay there? You’re looking a little wasted...how about we get you back to your place, huh?”

Tony shrugged. He felt loose and floaty and frankly, he was up for anything at the moment. 

“Alrighty then.” Tiberius grabbed Tony’s waist and hauled him to his feet, pulling the other’s arm over his shoulder. Tony let out a chuckle when they found that his legs just  _ couldn’t  _ hold him long enough for him to walk on his own. For some reason he found it hilarious, laughing and leaning against the older teenager as they made their way through the crowd. 

As they stumbled their way to Tony’s dorm, he became more aware, the cold night air miraculously clearing his head, if only a little. He could hear Tiberius whispering into his ear, about how  _ gorgeous he was  _ and how  _ he didn’t even know what he was doing to him.  _

The brunet shuddered, everything suddenly coming into crystal clear focus. He couldn’t think, couldn’t concentrate because he was  _ drugged. _ The sonofabitch had drugged him. They were already in the hallway now, only a few doors away from Tony’s. 

“No…” His voice came out in a croaky whisper. “No,” he tried again. He tried to shove Tiberius away but the older teenager had him pinned to the wall before he could take one stumbling step. 

“No?” The college student leaned in close, his sour breath wafting over Tony’s face. “You don’t get to say no, not with how you were acting all night. You’re a fucking tease, you know that? You got with all those models and actors on TV or in magazines and you say no when you know you really want it?”

“Get the fuck  _ off  _ me!” Tony grabbed at the other’s hands from where they were gripping his waist and hair and pulled, anything to get away. He tipped his head back, looking desperately down either end of the hall. “HELP! Help me, ple-”

He was cut off as Tiberius slammed his lips onto his, smashed the back of Tony’s head against the wall, leaving him nowhere to pull away to. A sob was wrenched from the fifteen year old’s mouth as he realized that no one was going to come running, that he was on his own.  _ Just like always.  _

Then the suffocating weight of the other teenager was ripped off of him and he slid down the wall, hitting the floor and curling up, arms over his head. He could hear shouting but Tony was shaking, his head filled with white noise and whatever words were being said went in one ear and ran out the other.

A hand gripped his shoulder suddenly and he jumped, curling in on himself more.  _ You fucking coward, you aren’t even trying to run  _ his mind whispered.  _ Maybe, maybe you did want that to happen. Maybe you want it to happen again. This is all your fucking fault...if you had paid attention, you wouldn’t have taken that drink!  _ He was snapped out of his spiraling thoughts when the hand on his shoulder began to shake him. 

“Hey. Hey, are you okay? Do you need me to call anyone for you?” Tony raised his head slowly to be greeted with the sight of James, who was  _ just  _ the person he wanted to see him fall apart. 

“I…’m fine,” he slurred, slowly clambering to his feet. 

“T-Tony?”

“Yeah? What do yah wa’ now?” He had finally made it to his door and he pushed it open as quickly as he could, the hallway feeling like the most dangerous place in the world. 

“You are obviously not fine.”

Tony spun, managing to not sway too much and flung his arms out. “Yeah? Well so the fuck what? Do you have any  _ idea  _ how many times that has happened to me? Any idea? At all. In fact, most of my fucking  _ flings  _ that you see on TV, about how Tony Stark is at it again, most of that shit was not initiated by me. I’ve got a fucking image that I have to be, that I was given the moment I entered middle school, nevermind that I was eight!”

James paused, then held out his hand. “Well, not when you’re with me. None of that shit is happenin’ here, okay?”

Tony stared. He had  _ never  _ heard that before, certainly not to him. “I...friend?”

“Friend.”

They shook on it.


End file.
